Welcome to Litsy!

If you have an opportunity to read any of Ann‘s nonfiction, do. Even better read them on audio. There is so much soul, so much beauty in these essays and how she lovingly speaks of the people in her life. She perfects sentimentality without any trace of saccharine. She is a national treasure, and I will not accept debate about it. And if you‘re ever in Nashville, stop by Parnassus. So cozy. So well curated.

Frictionless: that's the word that comes to mind. Of course, she'll work her craft, just like every writer does, but the impression this essay collection gives is that when her fingers hit the keyboard Bach pours out.
Ann Patchett, I salute you!🙌

I loved these essays. After an interesting intro, her essay her "three fathers" sets a strong tone that lingers. Patchett's mother married three times, and Ann, had deep connections with all three of them, despite her mother's marriages being more-or-less unhappy. This collection also addresses her friendship with Tom Hanks, but mainly through her much deeper friendship with Hank's main assistant.
(Continued in the comments)

Wonderful essay collection, touching on love friendships, the pandemic family, and writing. I particularly enjoyed the ones about the influence of Snoopy and her friendship with Sooki Raphael.

https://harpers.org/archive/2021/01/these-precious-days-ann-patchett-psilocybin-...

📷 Sooki Raphael

I love Ann patchett and read these essays on the flight ✈️ home from Greece 🇬🇷 some of them were excellent some so -so & some slightly repetitive so not a huge pick for me but reasonably enjoyable. I found the no children here essays interesting 🤔 as being childless myself (not through choice ) & some of the outrageous things said to me over the years, funnily enough mostly by women not men !

Next audiobook. I started this morning and I‘m already emotionally involved, thinking of my relationship with my own dad.

Read it for my nonfiction book club last month.

A couple of essays I've found interesting (the one on book covers for example), but honestly, I couldn't care less for most of it... I've already forgotten most of them, they just didn't stick with me. A couple of ladies really liked this book, and found it very interesting, but it really wasn't the case for me.

I had Patchett confused with another author. I read several of her earlier works which I enjoyed and then lost track, thought she was someone else, & didn‘t read any more of her books. This book has brought me back to her. I loved this collection. Each chapter revealed so much about who she is & how she navigates her world. She was a delightful companion through several snowstorms & I may even download it again in a few months just to be with her.

I‘m only 10% into The Stone Sky but this hold just came in and I don‘t want to wait.

❤️AnnPatchett

In her essays, Patchett doesn‘t come off as a stylized or overtly impressive writer. I rarely found myself gasping over a particular turn of phrase or marveling at the way she found the exact right way to wrap-up a piece. Not every essay was a clear winner. Still, I loved her voice. It‘s smart, engaging, & sharp. I want to visit her bookstore & read more by her (I‘ve only done Commonwealth). I‘ve even taken up her “Buy Nothing Year” pledge (lite).

“There is a magnificent quiet that comes from giving up the regular order of your life.”

The following quote is from an essay of Patchett‘s, in which she talks about Eudora Welty‘s relationship with Mississippi. She could just as easily be talking about New Englanders!

“This is the world into which [Welty] repeatedly places her characters. They interact first with the landscape and then, if there‘s any energy left after that, with each other.”

“That moment when you write a single, perfect sentence is worth more than an entire box of biscuits.”

(Of course) It‘s wonderful. Saw my family this weekend and my mom, sister, and I sat down to talk about this collection of essays, in particular its themes of death and friendship. Patchett is one of our favorite authors. She is masterful at seeing & revealing.

Short stories/essays are not normally my thing, esp. NF. But I really enjoyed these. Even if I never like another Patchett novel again, she‘s definitely someone I could have a chat with and discuss books 📚 I loved the Snoopy one ❤️
#booked2023 #ashortstorycollection

Last year, one of my best friends took her daughter to Nashville for a competitive soccer tournament. She dipped into Parnassus, and bought this book for me. 🥰

Starting an essay a day…

#bookspinbingo
#unreadbookshelf

What a lovely read. I read this slowly over the last couple weeks, just one or two essays a day, and it was the perfect way to read it (honestly, I wish I had even longer to really spread them out and savour them, but my book was due back!). As always with collections, some essays were more effective than others, but many will stick with me for quite some time.

#AuldLangSpine @Chelsea.Poole @monalyisha

These Precious Days was my first read from @BookNAround ‘s #AuldLangSpine list. I really enjoyed this, some of the essays resonated deeply for me. This one‘s title grabbed me. Losing my mom so suddenly in November has been a gut punch, after the numbness, knitting has recently been comforting me beyond measure. An essay where Ann finds joy in the loss of her dad also gave me pause, joy is possible. ❤️ A thought provoking kick off. @monalyisha

My last book of 2022 was We Are The Light by Matthew Quick. This started out just ok for me but ended on a high note as it unraveled. My first read of 2023 is the tagged These Precious Days by Ann Patchett from my #AuldLangSpine partner and host of #lastfirst @BookNAround - I‘ve seen it on many posts so it almost feels like a Buddy read☺️

@JamieArc Since it came up, here are the audiobooks I snagged from your #AuldLangSpine list (excepting the first, which is from mine 😉).

Unintentionally colour coordinating my book to my beer! Both are delicious so far.

#AuldLangSpine @Chelsea.Poole @monalyisha

Happy New Year, lovely Littens! Which title(s) are you starting your reading year with?

My littlest is not feeling so good, so I've got her snuggled up watching Charlie Brown while I crack into this one. I love Ann Patchett's fiction, but I've never tried her essays. Thank you to @Chelsea.Poole and her #auldlangspine list for the push to pick it up!

@monalyisha

#12booksof2022 #february

This collection of essays was a lovely surprise read - I didn‘t expect it to be so beautiful! ❤️

Amy! You are so sweet & thoughtful. I finally had an opportunity to pick up the package you sent me. Thank you! I can‘t wait to dive into this puzzle & book. 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 I‘ve not done a True South puzzle and this one is super cute (it‘s classic horror movie houses). Perfect for this weekend!

And better yet, I finally have a chair to sit in and a table to spread the puzzle out on.

I loved this essay collection. It had a lot of insights into the book/publishing/Mfa world - how book covers are selected and the happenstance of assignments in the iowa writer‘s workshop…it also had a deep humanity as in the title story of her friendship with Tom Hanks assistant. through the whole book was infused with her gratefulness for her life her appreciation of luck and privilege, and the imperative not to take our days for granted.

A beautiful collection of essays that remind us that our days are precious and numbered.

The friendship between Patchett and Sooki is inspiring.

Very sweet

I started the bottom book yesterday. Then I walked past my book shelves and got distracted. So now I‘m reading These Precious Days. I‘m trying not to walk past my shelves again until I finish at least one of these (or the other seven still unfinished on my bedside table).

I found I could closely predict her words. That‘s either a mark of authenticity or the mark of a writer who is smoothing her life into a … memoir. I‘m focused on the form factor because above all an essay has to be honest - from concept to purpose. These have the whiff of narrative. Which is ok - for a memoir. FR here https://www.facebook.com/1082882538/posts/pfbid0TU8SUbtrLTyhPyEFiKAydXQzq5zXtrJr...

As soon as I read the essay The Worthless Servant I sent my mother a copy of this book. All of the essays are good to great, but The Worthless Servant will stay with me. ❤️

Well, I did it. Needed to get this read for BC tomorrow. Like @Jeg I wish I hadn‘t rushed it, because this book is to be savoured. As with any book of essays and stories, I didn‘t love them all equally, but the ones I loved were just stunning. I‘ve read 5 of her books & loved 4. Reckon I‘d better get on & read the rest.

“Death always thinks of us eventually. The trick is to find the joy in the interim, make good use of the days we have left”

I liked this! Some essays obviously better than others, but she is a strong writer. I was especially moved by the story of her friend who is dying

A perfect day for sitting outside and reading this precious book. It‘s a book club read and I‘ve left it to the last moment and wish I hadn‘t. These essays ( please please don‘t be put off ) should be read slowly with time to think and ponder. My intention had been to read one every few days while enjoying my other reads.
I highly recommend and thank you @MrsMalaprop for choosing this book. ❤️❤️.

I am feeling all the feels with this book.

My mum, who I inherited my love of books from & who now has advanced dementia, made a very similar statement to me a few years ago. I am one of 5 kids & she told me I was the only one she & my dad never had to worry about.

I got to visit her today for the first time in a month, because she (& most other residents in her facility) recovered from a recent Covid outbreak. 🥰💕🙏

#kindledeal
Has very good reviews 😁

Can I get this read in 4 days? Chose this much anticipated read for bookclub and we are meeting Monday night - eeekk! I like to read book club books close to our meeting but this is pushing it. 😆😬
Better get to it. #currentlyreading

I once told my students when I finish a novel, I have to say goodbye to the characters. I rarely start a new book on the day I finish one.
I finished this book before bed & didn't sleep well; I was still thinking about Ann's ideas. Her writing, her honesty, her vulnerability resonate with me. I truly believe that if our paths were to cross somewhere in life we would be friends, but since they haven't I will settle for being a fan girl.

This wonderful collection of essays walked me through all possible emotions. I'm so grateful to Litsy for discovering this book!

“That's what I got from these books, the ability to walk through the door where everything I thought had been lost was in fact waiting for me. All of it. The trick was being brave enough to look. The books had given me that bravery, which is another way of saying the ability to believe.“

Give a little bit of understanding to the possibility that life might not have been fair.

Really incredible writing, I've got to actually read some of her fiction.
Some essays resonated more than others. The one about her friend who stays with her when she (the friend) needs cancer treatment was really beautiful. And I very much appreciated the one about not wanting to have children.
I basically skimmed and skipped one that went on and on about planes, though, oops.

Ann Patchett is a wonderful writer, along with being a bookstore owner in Nashville. These are her stories. They will make you laugh and cry, and your life will be enriched beyond measure.

Gentle book, good company when you've just tested positive...

My favorite book this year! Read the review! https://www.bluestockingreviews.com/post/these-precious-days

It turns out that having a hard wall to hit your tennis balls against is what gives them bounce. Having someone who believed in my failure more than my success kept me alert. It made me fierce. Without ever meaning to, my father taught me at a very early age to give up on the idea of approval.
I wish I could bottle that freedom now and give it to every young writer I meet...

A splendid collection of essays. Some were interesting as showing connections between her life and writing, others read like writing exercises, but I must particularly mention the wonderful journal of life in Covid lockdown with an unexpected guest.

Loved this collection of essays - thank you so much for putting it on my radar Holly! 😘 @Hooked_on_books

So difficult to pick a favourite… they are all so warm, intelligent and witty…the one about being childless by choice, or about choosing her book covers, or being at grad school, or nearly flying to Vienna on a whim and of course the title essay was just ❤️💔.

I have little connection to Ukraine as my father's parents left Kyiv for the US in the early 1900s. But still, there is an extra tug at my heartstrings aching for those caught in the current crisis. As I enjoy lunch and tea with one dear friend, savoring this book recommended by another, I bask in our good fortune and vow to cherish "these precious days." May you find opportunity to do the same if you are able. #bookandtea

#sunshinewellness

Unsurprisingly, Ann Patchett‘s collection of personal essays is just marvelous. There‘s not a dud in the bunch, though my favorites where her essay about being childless by choice (and all the lovely reactions one gets from others) and the one about how book covers come to be, or have for her. She‘s unapologetic and even a little brusque at times and I love it. Plus now I really want to see the pack of dogs in her bookstore!